Officers of the 'CTU Foundation' are being paid by the Foundation in addition to their salaries as officers of the Chicago Teachers Union... Information filed with the Internal Revenue Services reveals many facts the officers have refused to share with the union's delegates and members...

George N. Schmidt - November 06, 2016

In addition to their union salaries, the officers of the Chicago Teachers Union are also paid thousands of dollars a year as officers of the recently created "Chicago Teachers Union Foundation." Above, the officers at the time of the Foundation's most recent '990' filing with the Internal Revenue Service: Left to right, Michael Brunson, Recording Secretary, Karen Lewis, President, Jesse Sharkey, Vice President, and Kristine Mayle, Financial Secretary. Mayle did not run for re-election in the May 2016 union election and was replaced by Maria Moreno. The 2014 990 is the most recent available from the federal government.For the first time, the Chicago Teachers Union’s House of Delegates was informed, during the HOD’s most recent meeting, that a large number of activties that once were funded by the union are now being funded by an entity called the “CTU Foundation.” There has been discussion about the CTU Foundation at the House of Delegates from time to time, but virtually no discussion about how the Foundation spends its money – and on who and what.

But because the CTU Foundation is required to file a “Form 990” with the Internal Revenue Service every year, union members who take the time can learn information that the union’s officers might not want the public to know in detail. The most recent '990' is 42 pages long in PDF format and is available from the feds.

Why nothing about the actual costs and operations of the "Foundation"? Well, it may be because CTU President Karen Lewis at the most recent HOD meeting was asking the union’s members (now down to 26,000 and still dropping) to contribute small amounts to the Foundation. Why? So that the Foundation can do its good works. These now apparently range from the CTU Eyeglasses Fund (which was run by the union since the Great Depression of the 1930s) to much of the work of the CTU Quest Center. There was no discussion among the members of in the HOD as to why these major policy and fiscal changes had been made.

The IRS form 990 is required of all not-for-profit organizations. The first '990' filed by the CTU Foundation was filed with the federal government for the Foundation's fiscal year 2012. The 42-pages from the most recent CTU Foundation 990 report has never before been shared with CTU members although by the time that the 2014 990 was submitted to the federal government, the Foundation was making donations from a base of more than $40 million. Like all not-for-profits, the CTU Foundation is required to make a certain amount of donations each year.

The IRS form 990 is required of all not-for-profit organizations. Shown above is the first page of the most recent CTU Foundation 990, which has never before been shared with CTU members although by the time that above 990 was submitted to the federal government, the Foundation was making donations from a base of more than $40 million. Like all not-for-profits, the CTU Foundation is required to make a certain amount of donations each year. But as of November 6, 2016, the Foundation has never disclosed the costs of its operations (like the fact that its officers are being paid by the Foundation) or where its charity is going. But as of November 6, 2016, the Foundation had never disclosed the costs of its operations (like the fact that its officers are being paid by the Foundation) or where its charitable donations are going. On November 7, 2016, Substance will publish the complete list of those donations, demonstrating how for the first time in CTU history the union has been subsidizing most of the "community partners" that have been public in their support of the union's activities (and the recent threat to strike for the second time since 2012).

In articles over the next several days, Substance will report on information publicly available from the most recent 990 (which was for 2014). The year 2014 was important for the Foundation because that was the year the Foundation received more than $40 million from the sale of the Fewkes Tower. That building had been owned by the CTU for more than 50 years and was originally purchased as an apartment building to house retired teachers.

The most recent CTU Foundation 990 form shows that the CTU Foundation pays CTU officers for Foundation work. The officers of the CTU Foundation are the four officers of the Foundation, as well as officers of the union. The union’s officers are elected. The officers of the Foundation and their compensation until now have been secret from the CTU’s members.

The members are now being asked to add to their other contributions by making donations to the Foundation, while the annual salary ($21,000, in addition to the $140,000 she is paid for being President of the CTU and an officer of the Illinois Federation of Teachers) that CTU President Karen Lewis is now making from her work as an officer of the Foundation is the same as the annual salary of the lowest paid CTU members working under the contract that was recently ratified.

The below list shows the extra pay the CTU officers in 2014 were getting for their work at the Foundation. Note that Kristine Mayle did not run for re-election in May 2016. Her replacement was Maria Moreno. There is to date no information about whether Moreno is being paid by the Foundation, or how much her CTU salary is.

Karen Lewis, CTU President, in 2014 was paid $21,059 in addition to her $145,812 total salaries from CTU and IFT.

Michael Brunson, , CTU Recording Secretary, in 2014 was paid $23,927 in addition to his $134,712 for CTU and other salaries.

Kristine Mayle, CTU Financial Secretary, in 2014 was paid $14,236 in addition to her $103,262 income from CTU.

Jesse Sharkey, , CTU Vice President, in 2014, was paid $17,229 in addition to his $97,994 salary from CTU.

The seventh page of the 42-page PDF of the 2014 CTU Foundation form 990 shows that the Foundation has been paying the officers of the CTU an annual salary for their work as officers of the Foundation. This information has not been shared with the union's members of the union's House of Delegates.The CTU House of Delegates receives the union's proposed annual budget every May and the delegates vote on the budget in June. Since the Foundation was first founded four years ago, no information about the finances of the Foundation has been shared with the members of the House of Delegates or with the union's 26,000 dues paying members.In future stories from this analysis, Substance will report on the charitable donations made by the Foundation. Few CTU members will be surprised to learn that their Foundation gave $60,000 to the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO) and another $100,000 to the “Network for Public Education” (NPE). More in future editions of Substance.

Comments:

November 6, 2016 at 3:33 PM

By: Jo-Anne cairo

CTU Foundation

I have talked to retired and working teachers, they did not KNOW a thing about this foundation. They did not know about the CTU buying their own building and moving out of the Mart this month. They weren't aware that their CTU dues were going to be more. But the working teachers are tired and they don't care, one working teacher stated "they are going to close my school, that CPS has sent their crew in and the CTU is going to do nothing" The moral of the teachers is so low, they just don't care, and that's why nobody is asking questions.

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